With summer winding down, nothing beats the heat more than playing in water!
‘Tis the season where all the play dates before school starts are taking place and this past week, we found ourselves at the local splash pad. What had started as a couple of families had quickly turned into a reunion of sorts and everyone was more than ready to have a good time. With their sunblock on and a table under the shade for the parents, the only thing left to do was have fun!
The dozen or so children enjoyed playing in sprinklers, mazes, a few water slides and of course, a giant bucket of water. There were snacks everywhere with frozen yogurt pops, cheese crackers and plenty of juice. Occasionally there would be sunblock reapplying breaks and moments where tiredness would set in before another bounce of energy would kick in. The kids would interchange from time to time and no one was excluded. There was sharing of the toys and even a moment where the school resource officer stopped by on regular patrol to make sure that kindness was being shared by all.
The parents’ table was in clear site of all of the activities and there was a lot of comparing notes. Everyone’s vacation trips were shared as well as how the summer treated the families. Parents talked about the upcoming school and there was plenty of speculation to have the new school would play out. Some of the children aged out of the one school and are heading into a new school which some parents who had experienced that with their older children shared their tales. Parenting advice and recommendations were shared with care and the best part of all was that there was no negative gossiping or badmouthing.
After three hours, most of the children had decided that they were done while others had to be coaxed out of the water. A good time had been shared by all and the promise of seeing one another in a week at school kept the tears at bay. My daughters fell asleep in the car on their short ride home. These are the days that summer is made of!
